In this computer age it would appear that large segments of the population are highly proficient in the manipulation of numbers, and able to deal with our decimal system with ease. However, it is a fact that many adults are handicapped by not ever having achieved a facility in dealing with numbers, and my opinion is that those adults would have been spared this problem had they been introduced to an easily understood display of the numbers zero through nine in an appropriate teaching device while they were still young.
Others have endeavored to provide counting devices and educational devices, and the Anderson Pat. No. 465,811 entitled "Adding Machine" taught a device generally in the nature of an abacus, involving a frame utilizing a plurality of wooden bars each containing nine slidable buttons or beads. The Anderson device differed from other abacus type devices by presenting on the wooden bars, the numbers zero through nine. However, there were only nine counting pieces and ten spaces on such bars, and the numerals were quite small, so the Anderson type device did not readily lend itself to instructing young children in the use and value of numbers.
The Langieri, Jr. et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,755,924 entitled "Arithmetic Teaching Device" represented some advance over the Anderson device, but it was obviously of expensive construction and of too fragile a nature as to lend itself in the instruction of children. However, even more significant is the fact that Langieri includes a number 10 placed in the same column with the single digits, (see Column 2, line 34), which is a type of thing that I have found to be quite confusing to a young child, for the introduction of the number 10 contemporaneously with the introduction of the numbers zero through nine may provide a stumbling block substantially inhibiting his ability to deal readily and easily with our decimal system.
It was to overcome the serious disadvantages of the foregoing devices and others of that general nature that I was impelled to design the present highly advantageous device for teaching the decimal system to young children with minimal supervision.